To the Island

Janet Frame

This was so good I've ordered the other volumes. It is very evocative of childhood and growing up in terrible poverty in New Zealand. It had echoes of Huckleberry Finn.

Doreen also loved it but warned Caroline that the next volumes are desperately sad.
Caroline 06/05/01

Gill had found this a distressing read. Unlike Caroline who had previously reviewed the book she did not think that Janet Frame had a particularly happy childhood. The family was constantly on the move which led to she being an outsider and unable to integrate. The saddest part of the book was the ending when she is going off to do teacher training. A profession to which Gill felt that she was totally unsuited given her inability to conect with people
Gill 03/06/01

The frames have gone all funny - click to make it good.